SAN MARCOS, Texas — A new film studio planned for San Marcos will take the Texas movie scene to a new level.
The San Marcos City Council met Tuesday to discuss incentives for an 820,000-square-foot studio facility at 6202 West Centerpoint Road in the La Cima master-planned development. City documents indicate the project would include 12 sound stages, backlots, production offices and more.
"San Marcos was the clear-cut choice of where we wanted to be doing business," said Zach Price, co-founder and COO of Hill Country Studios. "The natural beauty of the Hill Country, as well as the local workforce and close proximity to the talent pools of Austin and San Antonio, made perfect sense for us to locate our film production studio in the Texas Innovation Corridor.”
According to a report by the Austin Business Journal, Hill Country Studios has proposed building the studio on 75 acres of a 209-acre plot in three phases. Construction will begin in April 2023 and will be conducted in three phases. It is anticipated to be completed by 2025.
The project has an estimated capital investment of $267 million and would employ at least 44 people with an average salary of $100,000. The ABJ reports that officials estimate the project would also result in the employment of 1,400 contract workers with an average of 1,200 on production projects, at an $80,000 average salary.
According to the city, the development will also support local vendors providing services and supplies needed for on-site production projects, including caterers, dry cleaners, tailors, lumber suppliers, digital equipment suppliers and more.
“We’re excited to see the opportunities this project brings to San Marcos,” said Assistant City Manager Joe Pantalion. “We’re excited Hill Country Group LLC has chosen to invest in San Marcos for this project and we’re confident the film production studio will positively impact our local businesses and our City’s overall economy.”
The city council approved an agreement that gives a tax break over five years.
"It would be 4.6 million. It would start at 1.4 million and decrease each year," said City of San Marcos Economic and Business development Manager Kelsee Jordan Lee.
The City's 10-year economic impact analysis projects a 249% return on investment, not including additional income generated through permitting, applications or construction activity.
“As a top-end film production studio, Hill Country Studios will be one of the premiere destinations for video creation in Texas,” said Jason Giulietti, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP). “Like the several other companies that have been able to prove over and over again that they’ve found success here in the Texas Innovation Corridor, Hill Country Group will succeed because of our region’s workforce and location assets. This will serve as a catalyst for economic growth, including new small business opportunities and indirect job creation.”
Read the ABJ's full report to learn more.
San Marcos isn't the only Central Texas city making moves in the movie industry. The 546-acre Bastrop 552 project is on track to open in August 2023. Eventually, the project will have 486,000 square feet of studio space. Like the San Marcos project, the Bastrop studio is expected to bring in thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars for the area.
And Central Texas production isn't just for the big screen. HBO Max crews were in Georgetown earlier this year filming a new miniseries called "Love and Death." It's based on a real life murder trial in Wylie, Texas, in 1980. It stars Jesse Plemons and Elizabeth Olsen and it is produced by Nicole Kidman.
When the series comes out later this year, viewers will see shots of the Williamson County Courthouse.
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